North Korea has claimed that the outbreak of war with the United States is now an “established fact” as the U.S. and South Korea continue a series of large-scale military drills across the Korean peninsula.
“The large-scale nuclear war exercises conducted by the U.S. in succession are creating a touch-and-go situation on the Korean peninsula,” said a spokesperson for the official KCNA news agency. “The remaining question now is: when will the war break out? We do not wish for a war but shall not hide from it.”
The spokesperson then accused CIA director Mike Pompeo of insulting Kim Jong-un after he suggested the young dictator did not grasp the seriousness of the situation.
“Worse still,” the spokesperson continued, “The CIA director has made a provocation against us by impudently criticizing our supreme leadership which is the heart of our people.”
The comments come amidst a series of large-scale joint military drills being carried out on the Korean Peninsula by the U.S. and South Korean military, showcasing immensely powerful aircraft such as four B-1B Lancer strategic bombers and six F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jets.
However, military officials have denied the exercises are linked to any recent activity, such as North Korea’s recent launch of an alleged intercontinental ballistic missile, and claim the operation is merely an annual routine.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang urged for calm on Thursday, warning that “ordinary people” would suffer the most from any kind of war.
“We hope all relevant parties can maintain calm and restraint and take steps to alleviate tensions and not provoke each other,” he said. “The outbreak of war is not in any side’s interest. The ones that will suffer the most are ordinary people.”
President Donald Trump has repeatedly tried to exert pressure on China to do more to solve the situation, maintaining that the solution runs through Beijing. Recently, China sent a special envoy to North Korea in order discuss the ease of tensions, although the effort appears to have failed.
Amid the rising tensions, White House National Security adviser H.R. McMaster has also warned that the likelihood of war is “increasing every day.”
“The greatest immediate threat to the United States and to the world is the threat posed by the rogue regime in North Korea and [Kim Jong-un’s] continued efforts to develop a long-range nuclear capability,” McMaster said.
“I think it’s increasing every day, which means that we’re in a race. It is a race because [Kim Jong-un] is getting closer and closer [to achieving a full nuclear arsenal], and there’s not that much time left.”
During a speech to the United Nations in September, Trump cautioned that if the U.S. is “forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea.”
Follow Ben Kew on Facebook, on Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at bkew@breitbart.com.
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